


A New Scale of Trouble

by HickoryDox, Scarpath



Series: Roleplays with Hickory and Scarpath [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Past Abuse, RP, Unrelated Fellbros, lamia!Red
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 16:13:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17770049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HickoryDox/pseuds/HickoryDox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarpath/pseuds/Scarpath
Summary: Fell is far too absorbed in his work. Undyne doesn't think that's very healthy. When a bust lands her with a Lamia on her hands, she knows just what to do with it.(Written in RP format)





	A New Scale of Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This rp has about 52 pages on it. It's not getting updates on the docs at the moment. Lamias are always fun to play with though, so who knows.

Fell was married to his job. He loved his work, even if it could be stressful.

 

And he hated when Undyne forced him to take vacations.

 

As per this, he was willing to take Undyne’s offer; she’d shut up and stop making him take vacations, and Fell would take care of the lamia she’d ended up stuck with when she’d arrested its owner.

 

Lamias were pretty smart, smart as monsters. Fell could just give it food and entertainment, and it should be able to take care of itself. He’d get out of dealing with Undyne’s griping, so it was worth the few extra costs.

 

Now he was just waiting for Undyne to get here with the danged thing.

 

\----

 

He was in a crate. He fucking  _ hated _ crates. He hated how the one end could be seen through, letting others look in on him and see him. So even though the space was small and comforting in that regard, it was useless because he wasn't  _ hiding _ . 

 

It wasn't even  _ his _ crate! It smelled foreign and sterile. Everything smelled strange now. At least at home he knew the scents, knew the hiding places, knew what to expect. But then the loud people had broken into his home and taken The Bastard away...

 

He didn't mind The Bastard being gone, but now he had no idea what was going on anymore. The blue person was loud and screechy. She'd gotten even screechier when he bit her. She didn't hold him right. He didn't like how cold her hands felt. He didn't like her. 

 

He didn't like any of this...

 

Now he was going somewhere. She'd shoved him in this crate, even though he'd hissed and fought her and bit her again. She was lucky The Bastard had taken his fangs away. He was made to be venomous. He didn't have the strength of a constrictor... So of course she'd been able to overpower him.

 

She smiled at him through the crate door, the expression looking unpleasant to him, and said something about hist 'spirit' and how it would be good for someone. He didn't understand.

 

He didn't like the rumble of the car. It was unfamiliar. He curled into the back of the crate, glaring out at the world and tasting all of those strange new scents. he dug his claws into his arms, trying to ground himself.

 

Undyne pulled into the driveway then threw off her seat belt and opened the door in one motion, smoothly hopping out and opening the back door where her reptilian passenger sat coiled in the crate she'd had to buy. She grabbed it and hauled it with her as she jogged up to the door.

 

She raised her foot. "Yo, Fell!"

 

Before she could kick out as she intended, however, the door opened and she was left standing awkwardly on one foot. 

 

"Fuhuhuhu! Good timing as always! Here! I brought you a present!" She held out the crate, door end towards him so he could see the angry little glaring lamia inside.

 

"His name is Red and he's got a wicked bite. He'll keep you on your toes!"

 

\----

 

“Could’ya not try to break my door again, fishface? And why the heck is-” It has a mind, don’t call it an it to its face, Fell- “He, she, whatever in a crate? I’ll have you know I spent the day you’ve forced me to take of researching the damned race ta know that it’s pretty rude to seal a thinking thing in such a tiny space.”

 

Undyne- the woman who doesn’t give a care in the world. Fell- the poor monster who has to apologise after she’s done something stupid. Gotta love how the world works. 

 

Fell took the crate, setting it next to the ‘den’ he’d made for the lamia. He didn’t wait to crack the thing open. The lamia could bite for all he cared, he had healing food stocked up. “Now shoo, fishface. You’re forcing the best monster on the force to take a vacation, yer too busy to harass me.”

 

\----

 

Undyne shrugged at the crate question, grinning unrepentant. "Yeah, well, he didn't like me trying to carry him either." She waved her bandaged hand, showing off the healing item she'd had to use. "How else was I supposed to get him here."

 

Red hissed at the person who opened his door, cramming himself as far back in the crate as he was able, expecting hands to grab at him at any moment. 

 

Meanwhile, Undyne cackled. "Best monster on the force! That's a good one, Bonehead! You're right about me being busy though. They've got me filling out all these papers and junk. Since when did we have to do that? Well, anyway, you have fun." Then she turned to leave.

 

\----

 

Once Undyne was gone and Fell’s door lived to see another day, Fell sat right down as far as he could get from the crate while still in sight of the lamia. “Alright, here’s how it’s going to be- I like my job. Undyne, the monster who just dropped you off, thinks I need to take breaks from my job for some stupid reason. Our compromise was that I’ll be looking after you. Makes me come home sooner or some other bull.”

 

Fell took a long breath. “I’ve made a den of sorts for you. It has two entrances, you’re next to one, while the other pops out of the corner over there. Can be locked from the inside, but not the out. I’ll have plenty of food for you. If you need anything, you have to tell me or you won’t get it. Understand?”

 

\----

 

Red hissed again, staring at the other person like he'd grown a second head. What kind of rules were those! And what did he mean 'tell him'?! Red wasn't supposed to talk. Ever. He knew better. 

 

Was it some kind of trap? A trick? The Bastard had liked pulling tricks. Telling Red to do something he knew he wasn't supposed to, giving him a chance to earn something good if he did it... Then punished him for doing the thing he wasn't supposed to do... Red caught on after a while and The Bastard moved onto other games. Was this guy trying to pull something similar?

 

And the food... He said he had plenty of it, but what would Red have to do to get it? What was the stipulation there? He didn't have to talk for that too, did he? Was this person going to starve him?! Was that the game?! Red hated that sort of game! It made him a sloppy hunter. The Bastard had always loved the blood though...

 

He didn't want to play those games... He didn't want to! 

 

Red's eyes darted to the 'den' the other had pointed out. It could be a trap... The person could be lying about the second door... And the ability to lock said doors... But looking inside, it seemed much bigger than this smelly crate. There seemed to be soft things in there... Would there be a cost for those? He didn't know... 

 

Fuck it. He didn't care! Anything would be better than sitting here and being stared at!

 

He darted quickly for the door, taking advantage of the fact that the person was far away and unable to grab at him. He quickly turned and worked out how the door functioned then slammed it shut and shoved the lock in place. He saw the other door and hurried over to it to repeat the action.

 

Safe. Unfamiliar, but dark and cozy and closed off. Safe. He explored a little, feeling over the blankets and soft beds. He pulled a blanket over himself and felt warm.

 

Safe.

 

\----

 

Ah. Fell should have seen that coming. Or at least realized it was a possibility. Some criminals cared for their pets, and others abused them. Like everyone else, really, just the abuse seemed so much worse in those cases.

 

Who knew how bad the lamia had it. 

 

It was a good thing Fell had thought to make the den, and pad it with cot mattresses and blankets. Until the lamia felt safer, it might not leave the den much.

 

It was all the same to Fell. He’d chucked his few valuables into his walk-in closet and gotten a lock. If the lamia went on a destructive streak, he wouldn’t break anything important.

 

Next question- feed him now, or later? If the lamia wasn’t going to leave the little den for a while, he wouldn’t be able to get the food out of the kitchen.

 

Might as well stick with now.

 

Fell got into the fridge, where he had some chicken breasts ready. A bit of seasonings and cooking later, and dinner was ready. Fell dished himself one of the breasts, and put the other two on a plate. “Made food, leaving your share next to the door you used to get in there. I will be in the other room.”

 

Fell then sat at the table, which wasn’t quite visible from the den. Give the snake some room, help him feel safer.

 

\----

 

It had been a while since he'd felt safe. He found it hard to sleep when he was exposed, so he hadn't been sleeping well lately. Now he was able to curl up and rest. 

 

He dozed for a bit, blanket thrown over him and soft bed under him. He was so warm. Everything was still smelly, but he decided he liked this place. He would make it smell like him. As long as he wasn't forced to move again, he could call this home. he especially liked that the person didn't seem to be capable of getting in. He'd never managed to find a place where he was protected before. He'd always just had to settle for 'good enough'.

 

He'd have to figure out the rules. He didn't want to leave. As long as he knew the rules, then this would be a good place.

 

He'd only been dozing for a short time before there was talking outside one of his doors. He reflexively moved away from the sound, sockets shooting wide and a hiss escaping him before he remembered he was safe in here.

 

Had... Had the person said something about food? red scented the air. It... It smelled a little like food... More like the food The Bastard ate than what Red did though... The bastard never ate things that kicked or bled. He ate things that steamed and smelled complex.

 

Red inched towards the door where the scent was wafting in. He'd heard the person walk away. Was is a trap? What kind of trap? Red hadn't heard him move around enough to set anything up. He wasn't waiting outside to grab him.

 

His stomach clenched, the pain of hunger trying to coax him to just open the door and go for it. The blue person had tried to feed him, but the things she'd tried to give him were... Strange... He hadn't wanted it.

 

This though... While it was unfamiliar, it still smelled... Good...

 

He stared hard at the door, whining faintly, indecisively. It couldn't be this simple... This easy... Food always came at a cost. He hesitated long enough that the scent started losing warmth.

 

He growled and grumbled. Slid to the other end of his den, then back. He pressed his face to the cracks around the door, trying to look out and see something, anything, to assure himself that it was safe.

 

He couldn't be sure. He had to just go for it and hope. Stars, he was bad at hoping...

 

Slowly, quietly in case the person was listening, he unlocked the door. Then pulled it open just enough to peek out. There was just a plate. A plate with food on it. Looking around, Red couldn't see anything else. Opening the door a bit more, he poked his head out, looking back and forth with his new visual range. Nothing.

 

He grabbed the plate and jerked it inside before slamming the door shut again.

 

The food was different. It tasted different. It felt different. He chewed it to get the most out of the flavor, trying to decide if he liked it or not. He definitely liked the warmth. It probably would have been better if he'd eaten it sooner.

 

He ate all that he'd been given and licked the juices from his fingers. If there did end up being a cost, he figured it would be worth it. Now he was safe and he was fed! He was even comfortable! It was like some kind of dream come true!

 

It was... It was too good to be true, wasn't it. Something... Something had to go wrong. There had to be a price. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to pay it.

 

Well... That was a problem for later. Right now he was full and warm and safe. He would enjoy that for however long he could. Curling back up with his blanket on the soft bed, he decided he would sleep some more. He really was tired.

 

\----

 

Fell sat at the table for a decent while after he’d finished his own food, until he finally heard the small slam of one of the crappy doors Fell had put on the den. The amount of time it took was another red flag.

 

Fell wasn’t qualified for this. However, who would take on a ‘pet’ suffering from clear signs of abuse? Looks like Fell was good enough, in that light.

 

Fuck Undyne for somehow knowing how to get Fell to care about anything but his work. He couldn’t just ‘set and forget’ when the lamia was suffering abuse. It would take actual effort to get the guy feeling safer.

 

Grumbling under his breath, Fell made his way to his bedroom. He could worry about this more tomorrow.

 

\----

 

He slept all night. It was like some kind of miracle. The house was silent, and so, consequently, was his den. When he woke the next morning, he was able to do so leisurely, slowly. He stretched, able to push his tail out to nearly it's full length even from the middle of his den. 

 

This was definitely a good place.

 

After a while, he heard sounds in another part of the house. The person seemed to be awake.

 

The person hadn't woken him up. Hadn't demanded anything of him. Hadn't tried to play any nasty tricks. He'd just given him this den and then also fed him. This couldn't actually be it, could it? There had to be more, right? There had to be something bad...

 

He decided he'd stay where he was. It was safe. He didn't want to push any boundaries yet. He liked feeling safe like this. Safe and comfortable and warm.

\----

 

The lamia didn’t come out of the den Fell had made. That was fine with him, though. Might as well let them(he thought they were a he, but he wasn’t sure) learn that the safe place Fell had made for them was just that.

 

Fell worked the job he did after not having a safe place as a child. He wanted to make the world just a little safer so children could have a safe place. The lamia was no child, but they hadn’t had a safe place for probably a while.

 

Thus, instead of trying to draw the lamia out or sliding the lid on the den out of place ( precaution just in case he had to get to the lamia for an emergency) he just put another plate of food near the door. “More food for you.”

 

This time, Fell sat on the couch, on the other side of the room. He sat sideways on the couch, leaving his back to the lamia.

 

\----

 

Red perked up a little, raising his head and poking out his tongue to taste the air in disbelief. More food? Already? The Bastard had almost never fed him two days in a row! The scant diet had stunted his growth, leaving him small and embarrassingly weak. Red had always just assumed that was how He wanted him. Did this person want him stronger? Why?

 

Regardless of reasons, Red found himself slithering from his little nest towards the door the person's voice had come from. Red scented the air again and took in the scent. It really was more food. Warm again, and full of the complex aroma of person food. His mouth practically watered.

 

He listened to the footsteps retreat. He noted that they hadn't gone quite as far this time. He didn't want to let the heat leave his food again, though, so this time he recklessly went to open the door much more quickly than yesterday.

 

When he popped his head out to look around, he found the person still in the same room. He froze, pupils narrowing to slits and sockets going wide with fear. Had he been caught?! Was it actually a trap?! He was being stupid! He got too comfortable!

 

The person didn't move towards him, though, simply stayed there on the other side of the room. Didn't even turn to look at him. Like he was ignoring Red. The Bastard had always stared at him, always liked watching him eat whatever it was that had been thrown at him that day. The lack of scrutiny had him relaxing marginally.

 

This was a strange person.

 

Red took the food, then retreated back into his den, quickly sliding the lock into place once more.

 

\----

 

A small, satisfied smirk found its way to Fell’s face when he turned to see that the lamia had still taken the food. It was good to see that the creature at least trusted him enough to take the food when he might be watching.

 

Maybe they’d be able to be in the same room without the lamia panicking before Fell’s vacation was up.

 

Fell somewhat belatedly realized he’d left no lights in the den. He’d even bought a lantern for the purpose. He’d leave it by the door to the den, and see if the lamia recognized it for what it was.

 

He took a moment to figure out where he’d put the thing, but once he’d gotten batteries in it, he left it next to the den. He went back to his spot on the couch.

 

\----

 

He'd just finished licking his plate clean when he heard the person approach his den again. There was a small thunk, like something had been set down outside the door, but there were no words telling him what it was.

 

Curiosity niggled at the back of his mind, but Red ignored it. He'd had plenty of practice ignoring it. It didn't smell like food. That meant that it probably wasn't something good.

 

Setting his plate down next to the one from yesterday, he crawled back towards his nest. He wanted to just laze about and do nothing, maybe try to doze with his belly nice and full... But his eyes kept straying towards the door, wondering with a mix of anxiety and interest.

 

\----

 

So non-food offerings were a no go. Fell filed that knowledge away when time passed without the noises of the lamia opening the door.

 

Fell grumbled a bit when he couldn’t figure out the next number on his sudoku. Stupid x-wings or whatever they were called. He flung the book across the room, glowering at the spot where it had landed with a small thunk.

 

Time for his other pastime. “I’m leaving the house for a bit.”

 

He planned to go get the things he needed to make lasagna, as that always helped him to lose some of the stress.

 

\----

 

There was a hard thunk as something hit the floor across the room. Red flinched out of his doze, eyes flying open, and reflexively turned towards the sound, even though he couldn't see anything outside his walls. His soul pounding in his chest, he almost didn't catch the words the person spoke.

 

He did catch them, though, and he perked up a little at the information. The person was leaving. Leaving the house open to exploration without the danger of being caught.

 

He waited until he heard the retreating footsteps. Waited until he heard the door open and shut, the little jangle of metal signifying that the door was now locked. He waited even after that, hearing the low rumble of a car outside and listening to it leave. He waited a little longer, just in case, then slid the lock free and opened his little door, confident that the house was as safe as it was going to get now.

 

The first thing he did was check out what had been left outside his door. It looked like an electronic. Which Red was wary of. Oftentimes, when The Bastard tried to get Red to play with an electronic, it would hurt him. And this thing did look remarkably similar to the 'bug zapper' he'd burned his fingers on. 

 

In the end, he decided to leave it alone. There were far more interesting things to explore anyway. Things that wouldn't bite him... Probably.

 

He explored the room he was in first. There was a bit of furniture, including the couch, a table, and a few other things. Red found the object that had been thrown to the floor and when he inspected it he found it to be some kind of book. Red didn't know letters, but he knew what they were for. It looked like a mix between the writing type of book and the reading type of book. Uninterested, Red let it fall back to the floor.

 

The couch was soft when Red crawled up on it. He hadn't been allowed on the furniture back home, but that hadn't stopped him from laying on couches and beds when The Bastard wasn't home. (And hadn't locked him up for the day.) It didn't stop him now either.

 

Unsure how much time he had to look around before the person came back, Red moved on. He had soft things in his den after all. It wouldn't be a huge loss if he couldn't curl up on the couch right now.

 

He moved on to the next room and found the kitchen. It was much cleaner than what he'd known back home. It smelled nice too. There was no cloying scent of cigarette smoke, mold, or strange chemicals. There were no ashes on the tables or in little dishes that seemed to be made for that purpose. There were no sharp needles laying around or empty glass bottles.

 

The scent of the food he'd had that morning lingered on the air and he happily flicked his tongue out to taste it. When he opened a few cabinets he found them to be full of metal dishes, clear plastic containers, or a few other odds and ends that he couldn't identify. He figured if he ever needed to, he could displace those things to hide in the small space. It looked nice and dim and cozy. Not as nice as his den though. He left them alone for now.

 

Next he found himself in a small hallway with three doors. Two of them didn't open, but the third did. It was the bathing room. Like the kitchen, it was a lot cleaner and nicer than he was used to. It didn't smell like waste fluids and the sink wasn't covered in hair. Which would make sense, he guessed, because the person didn't have hair. He didn't think the person did things like piss or shit either, since he was a skeleton, like Red. They didn't have guts to do that sort of thing.

 

On a rack, Red found a stack of towels. They were soft and had a nice color. He pulled one down to rub his face against it, the fluffy fibers feeling nice on his bones. Looking back up, he saw there were still three more up there. Was that enough that the person wouldn't miss one? Maybe... He wasn't sure. He supposed he could find out. The Bastard had been unpredictable when Red took things. Sometimes He was amused. Sometimes He didn't notice at all.

 

But sometimes He got angry... Red didn't take things often back home...

 

He  _ did _ need to figure out the rules. What better way than to see if he could break a few? Just small ones. Things that wouldn't get his ass beat. Or worse... While The Bastard had gotten angry about this sometimes, he'd never gotten pissed. There was a difference. A big one. The difference between bruises and busted bones. If Red wanted to figure out what the scale was here, he'd have to push a little.

 

Just a little...

 

And besides, he really did like the towel.

 

So he took it back with him, held tight to his chest. He slithered back to his den quickly, a certain sense of urgency driving him to go quicker than he usually moved, adrenaline making his soul race. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of taking something.

 

When he shut his door and slid the lock in place he was breathing a little harder. He was doing a bad thing. He knew he was. He knew he would probably get in trouble. He knew! But he did it anyway. He hugged the towel up against himself, sinking his chin into the softness. He flicked his tongue out against it. It smelled nice.

 

Surely the person would miss it... The house was so neat and clean. Things going missing would be noticed... 

 

He went to his nest, curling up and pressing back against the wall furthest from both doors. He felt daring and brave. He felt stupid and panicked. The towel smelled and felt nice. He pressed his face into the material and waited to see what consequences his actions would have.


End file.
